Moments
by VergofTowels
Summary: Snippets about Amanda, Sarek, and their young son Spock as they grow together as a family. More a collection than a chapterfic. Chapter 8 up! Spock meets his betrothed for the first time.
1. Amanda

I was inspired to write this by my love for kid!fic and also by The Girl From Shangri-La's wonderful fic 'A Logical Progression'. That fic is already doing what I'm attempting to here, better than I can. XD

* * *

The baby was so small that Sarek was afraid to hold him. That was logical. It seemed as if Spock could get lost in or unintentionally broken by his hands, he was so delicate. Amanda had no trouble scooping up their son. In fact, she did it often, despite Sarek's admonitions that too much physical contact would inhibit his unemotional development. She just shook her head at him and told him that Spock was half-human and human babies needed to be held by their mothers.

She made Sarek carry their son home to the house in ShiKahr. He couldn't object; she looked so worn after the long labor. And he wasn't really upset. He was inordinately, illogically, pleased at Spock's small weight against his chest. He decided that some contact was necessary to establish familial bonds.

However, once Spock started to grow up, Amanda's sentimentality started to become a hindrance. Though she had promised and agreed to raise Spock in the traditional Vulcan manner, that is, without emotion, Sarek found her frequently smiling at their son in his play. Even laughing.

"Amanda," he said gently, one evening after they had put the newest member of their family to bed, "you must refrain from such emotional outbursts."

She sighed. "I know. I'm sorry. But when I see him, I just… I get so happy!" She turned to him then, her eyes warm and her lips turning up at the corners. "Don't you feel it?" She touched his hand. "He's almost walking. He pulled himself up on the couch today." She looked into his eyes. "I know you feel it."

Sarek could not lie to her; she was his wife. "Yes, I do." He returned the touch and turned it into a chaste meeting of their fingertips. "But I do not show it. That is what Spock must learn."

"I'll try to curb my enthusiasm." She was teasing him now, but her meaning was sincere. That was all he could ask for.

"Come, my wife. To bed."

They ascended the stairs together to the master bedroom and prepared to sleep, Amanda stopping to check on the baby curled in the crib beside the bed. She had finally, after months of anxiety, learned that it was normal for a Vulcan baby to sleep quietly. She'd spent quite a few nights running to the side of the crib to check that he was still breathing at all. Now she just smoothed back the wisps of dark hair and gazed at the tiny fingers wrapped in the blanket.

"Good night, Spock." She slipped out of the robe she was wearing and into the light nightgown that served as her pajamas. Sarek was waiting for her on the bed, and he made room for her slight form beside him. "Good night, love."

"Good night, Amanda." He turned out the light and they both settled down to slumber.


	2. Sarek and Spock

Yep. Now we get some father/son interaction. I really love Sarek. I do. XD Oh! If Spock seems too grown up for a two-year-old... He's a Vulcan?

* * *

Sarek loved his son, but he sometimes had to wonder if Spock knew it. It seemed that Spock was quite partial to Amanda, understandably so considering her overt displays of affection, but the child was always much more enigmatic around his father. Sarek glanced over to where Spock sat now, curled on the far side of the couch in their spare living room. The boy looked back at him stoically.

"Spock," said Sarek, folding his hands in his lap. "You are an intelligent child. Do you understand that your mother has left for the week?" Amanda had reluctantly accepted an offer to do a Vulcan-themed teaching seminar on Earth, afraid that her substitute should she refuse was an 'incorrigible misinterpreter of Surakian principles.' She had bid farewell to her family earlier that day and entrusted Sarek with the well-being of their sometimes fragile son.

Sarek wondered now if that had really been logical.

"I unnerstand," Spock said quietly, looking anxiously out the window.

"Good," hedged Sarek. "Then you also understand that the duties she usually performs around the house have now fallen on my shoulders."

Spock blinked at him, his dark eyes wide in his pale face.

"Which means I must now bathe you," continued Sarek awkwardly.

Spock, with the speed of a sprinter, clambered off the couch and ran from the room. He made quite good time for a two-year-old and, in fact, had disappeared before Sarek knew what had hit him. The Vulcan stared at the door and carefully folded his arms behind him.

This was going to be difficult.

Sarek decided that the best way, and indeed, the logical way, to go about this would be to search each room in the house for his son, starting with the most likely and ending with the least. He therefore proceeded first to Spock's bedroom. The room was smallish, but bright, having white walls and many windows. A few woven tapestries hung by the door, chosen by Amanda. Spock's bed sat on the right, covered in a red bedspread Amanda had quilted herself.

There was no sign of Spock.

Sarek hesitantly perused his son's belongings, hoping to garner a clue about the boy's location. The holoposter of the periodic table did not help him. Neither did the various educational puzzles on the two-year-old sized shelf, some completed and others halted by lack of interest (unlikely) or logical problems that Spock had yet to overcome. The stuffed bear on the bed was most unhelpful.

Sarek decided to continue his search elsewhere.

Next on his list was the library. Spock's curiosity often led him into the room though he was unable to read most of the volumes, much less understand them. Sarek was pleased by Spock's desire to learn and allowed him to access the computer whenever he wanted, provided that someone was in the room with him.

At the moment, Spock's favorite texts included _A History of Andorian Cuisine_ by Ersha R'Teln, _Advanced Mathematic Theory and Practice_ by Professor T'Lori of the Vulcan Science Academy, and _Goodnight Moon_ by a human named Margaret Wise Brown.

However enlightening the library was, it did nothing to aid him in his search for Spock. Sarek sighed and mentally checked it off his list.

Sarek suddenly had an epiphany. There was a very logical place for Spock to be at this moment, simply because of the high improbability that Spock would be there. In fact, Sarek could not believe he hadn't thought of it before. He almost smiled to himself as he left the library, walking down the corridor to the unassuming room. He pushed open the door, already slightly ajar, and peered in.

Spock was indeed within this room. In fact, he was sitting quite calmly in the bathtub, reading something on his educational PADD. It looked as if he suspected he would be there for some time, unmolested by pesky fathers. Sarek watched as the boy smiled to himself and scrolled with his stylus. He really was too clever for his own good.

"Spock," said Sarek, almost _enjoying_ the expression of horror that flitted across his son's features, "I see you are well ahead of this old man. However, I have learned a few things in my time. Now, it is time for your bath." Sarek came over and gently removed the PADD from Spock's limp fingers as the boy stared at him accusingly.

Sarek laughed internally as he lifted Spock gently out of the tub and began to fill it with water. Water on Vulcan was a precious resource; however, Amanda had had the tub installed while she was pregnant because she didn't want to stand for her showers, and, helpless, Sarek agreed. It was illogical not to use it when it was present and functional, Sarek thought, so he did.

Spock had reluctantly disrobed and was now standing silently beside the counter, looking at everything but his father. He was obviously uncomfortable, and his body language gave away his unease as he climbed unhappily into his bath. Sarek was confused.

Perhaps Amanda was right when she told him he should spend more time with his son.

Well, no time like the present.

"Spock, have you been reading recently?" Sarek gently poured a cupload of water over Spock's hair as the boy nodded. "Did you learn anything?"

"Yes. I learned about frogs." Spock looked up at him happily, glad to be talking about something he knew.

"What about frogs?"

"There are none on Vulcan."

"That is correct," said Sarek, looking contemplative. "Do you know why?"

Spock shook his head sadly and looked down at the water. He looked like he was restraining the urge to splash.

"Frogs are amphibious," continued Sarek. "They are unable to dwell on such a dry planet as our own without sufficient biological enhancement."

Spock's little face peered up at him. If he had been human, he most certainly would have said 'Huh?' Sarek had to remind himself that, despite Spock's promising abilities, his son was only two. He decided a different approach was in order.

"Do you want to hear a story about frogs?"

---

Amanda tossed her bag onto the couch and sighed, glad to be home. The seminar had been fun, of course; she loved her job. But nothing was more fun than being with her family.

She hoped Sarek hadn't frightened Spock while she was gone.

She could feel him now, through their bond, his presence as warm and comforting as always. He seemed to be in the master bedroom. That was unsurprising, considering how late it was. She knew he wasn't sleeping, so she made her way down the hall to join him. She opened the door quietly, intending to climb under the covers beside her husband, but… It seemed there was already someone on her side of the bed. Spock was curled up like an armadillo under the blanket, the only part visible being his hair. Sarek looked up as she approached.

"Amanda." He extended the kiss gesture to her and she returned it automatically. "How was your trip?"

"It was fine. I got to meet a few respected linguists who I've been following… How was your week?" She glanced at the lump that was her son and raised an eyebrow. "It seems you and Spock are getting along."

"Yes. We have overcome our differences," said Sarek, welcoming Amanda into his arms. They leaned back together against the headboard and watched their son sleep.

"He seems to have replaced me," giggled Amanda, reaching out to touch the smooth curve of Spock's ear, fascinated as always by the miniature point.

"Well, there was a thunderstorm. I deemed that Spock was afraid of the sound when he attempted to stash himself in one of the kitchen cabinets. Under the circumstances, I decided that to offer him the safety of our bed was only logical."

"Naturally." Amanda settled against Sarek's chest and inhaled his comforting scent. "I love you, Sarek."


	3. Amanda and Spock

So! Here is the third installment. We have the other parent looking for Spock... I promise there will be more variation next chapter. XD I've come up with a direction if not a unifying plot for this collection, and I've planned - count them - _eighteen_ chapters. Am I insane? Quite possibly. I do not know if this monumental undertaking will ever be finished, but I hope so.

Now, you should know. I've created a father for Uhura in this fic. He is in no way related to canon. :P

Disclaimer, because I realize I've been forgetting it: Star Trek is not mine!

* * *

Amanda checked the small piece of paper and nodded to herself. Yes, it was about time she went grocery shopping. She tucked the list into her purse and slung the small bag over her shoulder. The Vulcan embassy in San Francisco provided them with everything they could need; however, the only food available was Vulcan. Amanda didn't have a problem with the functional cuisine until Earth presented her with variety.

Checking the wall measure for the temperature outside, she headed down the hall to her son's room and knocked. Spock was quick to open the door.

"Mother," he said, happily, though the expression didn't show on his face. Sarek had begun teaching him control now that he was three. School next year, she kept thinking, gazing at him with an almost-disguised fondness.

"Do you want to see more of Earth?" Amanda asked, picking up the boy. He nodded and grabbed her sleeve for stability as she headed toward the outside world. Amanda had begun to notice Spock's developing aversion to being held, but, as usual, it didn't seem to apply to her. She wondered if she should be wary of that.

After bundling Spock in a heavy cloak and a fuzzy hat, Amanda opened the embassy doors and headed off down the steps. She nodded to passing associates, friends of Sarek or some of her own, and they, for the most part, nodded back. Spock kept close to his mother and looked around with wide eyes at the new world unfolding around him.

"Where are we going, mother?"

"We're going to go shopping for fruit. And maybe we'll have a little fun." She looked down at Spock and wiggled her eyebrows.

"…Okay."

---

The shuttle ride was-

"Fascinating."

Spock was twisted around so he could look out the window, tiny hands pressed against the Plexiglas. He didn't seem to notice or mind the odd glances he was receiving from the other passengers.

"What do you see, Spock?" Amanda had one hand out to catch him should the motion of the shuttle dislodge him from his post, but she was enjoying his enjoyment too much to make him sit down.

"Many metal buildings. Many people." He turned to look at her. "What is a 'hot dog stand'?"

"It's a stall for selling hot dogs. Hot dogs are a food… sort of."

"…I do not unnerstand."

"Well…" Amanda was interrupted by a mechanical announcement.

"Kzz… Lyndon Shopping Plaza … Now arriving at Lyndon Plaza… Kzz."

"Time to get off, honey." Amanda stood up as the shuttle came to a stop and guided Spock out into the plaza. Everywhere people were rushing around, trying to get things done. The air was full of chatter and sound. "Stay close with me, Spock." She felt him grab her jacket and smiled.

The first stop was a small clothing boutique. Amanda and Spock had made their way through a crowd of laughing Starfleet cadets to reach it and now Amanda was looking over the dress selection thoughtfully.

Spock was bored. Or at least understimulated, because Vulcans didn't get bored. Boredom was an emotional state.

He decided to go on an adventure. It was a logical decision. Probably. Well, Spock wasn't concerned with that. Father wasn't here, so it was okay to be a little bit illogical. Mother said.

So he left Amanda to her shopping and went in search of more amusing climes.

---

"Spock, honey, do you like blue?" Amanda held the full-length dress up to her chest to check the fit and glanced behind her for Spock's reaction. Only Spock wasn't there. Crap. "Spock? Spock!" She practically flung the dress back at the hanger and whirled around. He wasn't where she'd left him.

"Spock?" She peeked under a clothes rack, hoping he had just hidden himself in the clothes like she had when she was a child, but no, he wasn't there. A quick survey, and then a more thorough one, and she was sure that Spock was no longer in the store. "Oh my god…"

What if he'd been kidnapped? Sarek was an important man. What if she'd been recognized and Spock had been _taken?_

What was she going to do?

"Um, excuse me?"

Amanda turned numbly to see a young man, probably in his twenties, looking at her, a tentative smile on his handsome face. He had dark, dark skin and a fine bone structure. It only made his smile the more apparent.

"Ma'am, are you in trouble? I couldn't help but notice… Did you lose something?"

He was wearing the red cadet uniform and had a shopping bag over one shoulder.

"Uhura! Come on! We're going to be late for the movie." A group of boys had gathered around the storefront and was now gesturing to the young man and bantering among themselves.

"Go on without me, guys! Those boys…" He turned back to Amanda. "Ma'am?"

"I lost… I lost my child. My son." She felt the fear rise up within her. "I need to find him."

"I will help you. My name is Kanaifu Uhura, nice to meet you." He shook her hand. "Now that that's over with, what does he look like?"

"He's about this tall… Wearing a white cloak and a red hat… His name is Spock." She blinked. "And he's Vulcan."

"Okay. I'm going to go to the desk and tell them to call you if he comes back here. You go out to the plaza and start looking. What's your name?"

"It's Amanda. Amanda Grayson." She gave him her number and watched him go to the check-out counter. She went outside.

---

Spock was lost. He was also alone. Sort of. All around him were people walking and running, talking and touching and laughing.

It was enough to make anyone claustrophobic, much less a three-year-old Vulcan. And actually, Spock was terrified.

So he did what anyone would have done. He started crying. And then he sat down while the traffic continued around him.

---

"He isn't over here," said Kanaifu, threading his way through the thinning crowd of shoppers. It was afternoon now. They'd been searching for hours.

"I just _know_ he's been taken," wailed Amanda, finally breaking down. She sat heavily on a bench and put her face in her hands.

Spock, gone. Spock, her baby. She'd been so happy about the pregnancy, had gladly submitted to the tests, the hormone injections. She wanted her baby to be healthy. And now he was lost and it was her fault.

Sarek was going to kill her, but he'd have to wait. She would kill herself first.

"Don't give up," cajoled her helper. The young man had leapt up onto the fountain at the center of the plaza, shading his eyes and peering out like a scout. Suddenly, he cupped his hands around his mouth and bellowed "SPOCK!"

Amanda jumped. The shout was possibly louder than anything she'd heard before, short of a launch. Spock would be able to hear it. She felt a little flutter of hope as passers-by stopped and stared.

---

"Spock!"

The boy hesitantly looked up. Someone was calling him. He scrubbed the tears off his face and stood up.

"_Ko-mekh_?" Spock blinked.

"Spock!" The call came again, and this time he could tell it was definitely a man. Still, logic dictated that if he wanted to be found, he should go toward the sound. He started to walk, then to run.

---

"SPOCK!"

Amanda waited anxiously at the foot of the fountain. Her baby… Surely he would come.

"That ought to do," said Kanaifu, climbing down. He rubbed his throat. "Haven't needed to shout like that for quite some time!"

"Thank you so much, for what you're doing…"

"No problem, ma'am. It's my pleasure."

Then they both froze. A small sound…

There it was again.

"_Ko-mekh_, _ko-mekh_!" The sound of small feet drawing near. "_Wilat du_?"

Amanda ran toward the sound, elbowing people who couldn't move out of her way fast enough. "Spock!" she called. "I'm right here."

"_Ko-mekh_!"

There he was, in her arms again. She pulled him close and held him tightly.

"Spock, are you all right? Are you hurt? Where _were_ you?" The questions wouldn't stop coming, a verbal expression of her relief. "Why did you leave?"

"It was illogical. I know." Spock sighed and buried his face in her shoulder. Amanda turned to Kanaifu.

"Thank you so much. How can I repay you?"

"That isn't necessary. I like helping people." He grinned. "You'd best be off home, ma'am. It's getting late."

"Yes, I will." She shook his hand and they bid farewell, the young man disappearing off in the direction of the Academy.

---

Spock was quiet this time in the shuttle, and he sat still on Amanda's lap. She absently petted him as they rode, just glad that he was back with her. Of course, now that the adrenaline was fading there would have to be consequences. Spock was a Vulcan, and thus old enough to know not to wander off. She turned him to face her.

"Do not tell Father," was the first thing out of his mouth. He looked at her helplessly and grabbed her sleeve for comfort. "Please." He then said, "Do not be angry."

"Spock, I'm not mad. I'm… frustrated." She sighed. "Why did you run off?"

"…I was having an emotion."

"Oh?" Amanda raised an eyebrow. "What emotion?"

"Boring."

Amanda's mouth quirked, then she laughed. "You were bored?"

"Please do not tell Father."

"All right. But, you know… I don't think I'll take you shopping again."

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	4. Soral and Spock

Those of you who have read my other story, 'Great Affection', may find this familiar.

**Warning:** This chapter is rated PG-13 for violence!

Disclaimer: I do not own Star Trek!

* * *

He could feel the small hairs on the back of his neck prick up and hear soft footsteps behind him. He swallowed nervously and turned around. A taller boy stood before him, his arms crossed. Two more cronies flanked him on either side.

"Again?" Spock asked simply, unable to understand the boy's reason for persisting. "There is a seventy-thr-"

"I am not interested in your percentages," said Soral, eyeing him maliciously. Spock could have made a comment about his lack of control, but it would only hasten the inevitable. "Human."

"I might point out once again that I am not _only_ human," said Spock, resigned. He folded his arms behind him to stop his hands from shaking. "What you are doing is illogical."

"Look at him tremble," remarked one of the other, nameless, boys. "I think he's scared. Spock, do you _feel_ scared?"

"I do not feel," said Spock, but he shrank away when Soral stepped closer.

"Give me a rock," said Soral, holding out his hand to one of his friends.

Spock closed his eyes.

---

Amanda placed a plate of fruit on the table before her son and smiled as he speared a slice with his fork. She took a seat across from him and sipped at her tea as she watched him eat. He was a neat eater, like Sarek, though she supposed all Vulcans had good table manners. He pushed the plate away when he was done and folded his hands in his lap.

"So, Spock, do you like school?" It had been a week or two since her son had started attending and so far she hadn't heard about it. Spock was very smart. She hoped he was having fun.

"Yes, Mother." He looked at her quietly over the table. "I like learning."

"Yes, I knew you would. What do you like best?" Amanda could answer that question herself, but she wanted Spock to talk to her. She enjoyed his attempts to sound grown up.

"Science." Spock almost smiled then. "I learned about the periodic table and the elements."

"That's good. Did you make friends?" She smiled at him, completely unaware.

"…I have in- interactions with other boys almost every day."

---

"Do you know why you have to take this?" asked Soral, his voice coming from somewhere behind Spock's head.

"No." Spock clutched at the sand that was digging into his hands and knees and tried to focus. The sun was hot on the back of his neck, and the scratches burned like fire.

"Because you are weak," said his tormentor, drawing his rock along Spock's spine. Drawing blood.

Spock looked at the red dust under his nails and thought 'You_ are weak_. You_ are the one venting your emotions on a child. _You_ are the one who has lost your control.' _He did not say anything.

"Yes. You are." Soral nodded somewhere above him and cut into Spock's shoulder. Spock was silent.

Spock knew that Soral was not an only child. He had seen Soral's sister at the end of school one day during his first week there. She was older, in her teens perhaps. Spock knew that she was the favorite in the family because Soral did not like her. Soral did not listen when she spoke to him.

"Because you are human. A human pig. I bet you cry when you go home."

Spock did not cry. He never said a word because that would make Mother upset. She was too important to him for him to cause her that kind of pain.

---

"I don't think Spock is making friends," said Amanda. Spock could pick her voice out of a hundred. He watched her shadow move across the square of kitchen light to join his father's.

"He does not need to, as long as he succeeds." Spock could tell this was not a satisfactory answer by the way Amanda's shadow tilted its head. "Amanda, you must not worry. Spock is clearly far superior to his peers in intellect. It will be difficult for him to fit in no matter where he goes. He is not making friends. But he will."

"How am I supposed to answer that, Sarek? You tell me that he doesn't feel anymore, but you and I both know that he does. He's sad. I think he's lonely."

Spock watched from the hallway as Sarek's shadow met his mother's in an embrace. He crept back to his room. He would not make mother sad about him again.

---

"This is for your own good," Soral muttered, trying to convince himself.

Spock listened to him stand up and walk away a few paces and slowly got to his knees. He turned to see the boy staring out at the mountains, bloody rock still clasped in one hand.

Spock rubbed the sand off his palms and stared at Soral's back. He wondered if there were any scars there, under the gray cloth of his school uniform. Did Soral's disgraced father use a knife instead of a rock? Spock had heard of Vulcan madness. He wondered if Soral realized what it was.

"You should be happy," cried the boy, suddenly, flinging the rock to the ground. He whirled to face Spock, something twisting his features into a scowl. "I'm ridding you of your soft weakling taint."

Spock just got to his feet and pulled his rumpled robe back into place.

"Are _you_ happy, Soral?"

There was silence behind him as he walked back to his house and his mother's understanding arms.

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	5. Amanda and Sarek

I hope that not all of the chapters are going to be this serious/sad. I don't know where this is coming from. I also would like to apologize if the formatting is annoying. I was trying to write something without dialogue for once. It tunred out a little choppy. *shrug*

Disclaimer: I do not own Star Trek!

* * *

Amanda folded her hands in her lap. She had to keep them from clenching into fists, though her face remained carefully schooled into blankness. The cloth of her robe was an irritation. The wisps of hair that kept falling back onto her face were an irritation.

Everything was an irritation.

A voice without inflection called her name.

She stood up and entered the office.

---

Spock sat contritely by the door, his hands folded in his lap. His face hurt. This was because it was bruising. He hoped that it wouldn't darken too much, because he drew enough attention to himself already.

---

Sarek folded his arms behind him and stood stoically while Amanda talked. His wife was a formidable force when she got going. Her emotion, though somewhat embarrassing to him in some circumstances, had the added benefit of being embarrassing to other Vulcans. This allowed her to throw them off balance.

She was currently lecturing the headmaster of Spock's school about safety and prevention of 'incidents.'

Spock was the subject of many 'incidents.'

---

The floor of the Institute was buffed to perfection every morning. It was logical for the building to look its best; after all, more students would enroll in a well-kept school than in one that collected dust.

Spock's face stood out in the dark stone very clearly. He had tucked his legs under him and was now studying his lack of expression. His face was delicately rounded with pale, pale skin. He looked like a ghost.

He could hear his parents arguing – discussing – down the hallway, behind a partially closed door. Mother's raised voice. He could see her now, her hands half-gesturing as she tried to restrain herself. Father's calm statements. They were talking about him again, as he sat out here in the corridor.

He felt like a ghost.

---

Amanda's fingers felt like a vice on his arm, but he did not react. It was not in his nature. She wanted him to take 'her side.' He wanted her to see the illogic of the situation.

Yes, it was true. Spock _was_ still a child. He was well aware of the torment other children inflicted on his son. He did not believe talking to their parents would solve the problem. Why? Their parents' ideas were most likely the cause of the behavior.

Then what was he going to do about it? He would think of something.

---

Amanda was tired of hearing her husband try to rationalize the situation. She gathered her robe and stood. She walked away, out of the office and out of the school and down the steps.

Spock watched her go.

---

Sarek sat down beside his son and did not know what to say. He was not heartless as Amanda would have him; he was well aware that telling Spock to deal with the pain was not a preferable solution. But it was logical.

When pressed, Spock told him about the bullies. Their customary verbal insults had today given way to physical stimuli. Spock had not fought back. Sarek was proud of him. Amanda was furious, because she was hurt.

The two Vulcans began to walk.

---

"I am sorry." The small sound was almost lost in the winds that battered Shi'Kahr today. Spock was looking at the ground, his mouth trembling.

Sarek embraced his son for the first and last time.

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	6. Sarek

Arrg... I can't tell if it's sad or not. .o Anyway, my love for Sarek is showing again, I'm afraid. XD I just watched _Search For Spock_, so yeah.

Disclaimer: I do not own Star Trek!

* * *

Spock was not enjoying the birthday party. Sarek could tell, still able to read his son's blank face like a book. Though Spock was polite to his guests, his attention was elsewhere. He looked like he wanted to hide under the table.

Spock had turned six early that morning, and Amanda had decided to host an… event. Accordingly, all of their friends from the embassy staff had been invited to the conference room at three to celebrate Spock's life. Amanda's teaching friends were also in attendance, and they had, unlike the Vulcans, brought gifts.

Amanda believed the event to be a success. She simply believed that Spock was shy, which he _was_ to some degree. Sarek saw instead that the company was threatening Spock's delicate control, fragile still after two years of schooling. Yes, in that department, Spock was progressing rather behind schedule.

"Amanda, the environment will not be good for him," he had said that morning, trying to convey his concern through their bond. She touched his face.

"Spock needs to know that we care about him. That _you_ care about him." Her response bordered on the reproachful, though of course she knew of his affection for their son. There wasn't a day he did not thank science for giving them their little boy.

"This is unwise," he had said, almost pleading, in his way.

But here they were.

Spock sat on a chair by the front of the room, growing taller, but still slender and small. He was desperately trying to make sense of the brightly-wrapped box in his lap before he embarrassed his mother in front of her friends.

"It's a gift, Spock. Open it." Amanda's eyes were bright, encouraging. Spock hesitantly split the seam and pulled the paper off, whole. He opened the box.

"A book," he said, pulling out the volume. Sarek could see that it was an imitation antique, the pages made of synthesized material, the binding of plastic compounds. "Thank you." He placed it carefully to the side. He looked alarmed to see that there were more boxes waiting.

Sarek had noticed that there were no children at the party, though several Vulcans had their families here in California. He frowned inwardly, but dismissed his brief unease. So Spock did not get along with his peers. This was because of his intelligence. Their jealousy was not Spock's fault, and could therefore be logically ignored. Spock would find what companionship he needed in science, in the Academy on Vulcan.

_But you needed Amanda_, whispered a voice in his head.

Spock had unwrapped another gift, exposing a stuffed animal – a teddy bear – to the room. He held it away from him, examining the soft fur on the slightly rounded ears, the sewn-in smile, the cheerful black eyes. Reluctantly, he set it beside him, on top of the book.

"Thank you," he said, folding his hands methodically in a basic meditative form. He closed his eyes.

"Honey," said Amanda, for the first time looking slightly worried, "don't you feel well?" She was well aware of Spock's love for animals. He had adopted an old sehlat just a few months ago and had begged them to let him bring it to Earth.

"Mother, I am quite well." He looked up innocently into her face. "Please, may I have another?" After a beat, she nodded, and handed him a bag full of brilliant red paper. Spock removed each piece one by one.

"Would it not be more logical to celebrate the mother, for giving birth?" asked T'Ral, an embassy consultant whom Sarek worked with often. "If you must celebrate anything."

"Indeed," murmured Sarek, to avoid disagreeing with her. It was true that Amanda had endured much to bring Spock into the world, but Sarek credited Spock's will to survive as the reason he lived now, breathing and blinking and still, smiling. It had been close, sometimes. Remembering made his heart beat faster, and he willed it to slow, lest it attract attention.

No. His son, his beautiful son, was enough to celebrate.

At six, the guests dispersed, said their farewells, and disappeared again within the metaphorical woodwork of the Vulcan Embassy. Amanda led her friends to the door, bidding them to take care. They needed a guide out into San Francisco, and she volunteered, of course. Spock sat alone beside his pile of presents, torn between relief at his sudden personal space and confusion. What to do with these things that were now, illogically, his? His eyes lingered on the bear.

Sarek approached slowly, stately, and took up position beside his young son. Spock sat up straighter, pulling his eyes away and upward to nervously meet his father's face.

"Do you approve of your gifts?" Sarek asked calmly.

"Yes, Father." Spock did not know how to proceed, to please.

"It would be illogical not to use them in their proper functions, would it not?" And Sarek did not even blink when Spock scooped up the bear and hugged it lovingly to his chest. He nodded, almost approving. Amanda would have said his eyes softened.

_I am proud of you, Spock. And I love you._

"Happy birthday, my son."

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Reviews make me happy~ ;D


	7. Son of Sarek

Sorry for the delay. _Heatsink_ has been taking over my brain. :D

Disclaimer: I do not own Star Trek!

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Spock wanted to go back. Spock did not want to go back. He sat quietly in the flyer as it approached Shi'Kahr and he tried to organize his thoughts. He had left his home six days earlier, followed by I-Chaya. He was returning without the sehlat. When he closed his eyes, he could still see the blood.

But it didn't matter. He had given I-Chaya his thanks and a peaceful death. That was all he could do.

The house was far below, but he could see it now. The flyer drew closer each moment and finally settled on the sand, the downdraft billowing it up in clouds of red. His parents were standing in the doorway. Mother was wringing her hands. Father was…

Father was as still as the mountains.

He climbed out of the flyer and approached cautiously.

Mother ran to him and swept him up in her arms, not crying, but certainly having some kind of emotional outburst. Spock wrapped his arms around her neck, unsure how to make it stop. He decided, finally, that it was not going to, and surrendered himself to her love. Her robe was soft against his cheek.

"Oh, Spock…" She thanked the cousin who had retrieved him, someone he had never met, before he went away in the flyer. Spock buried his face in her neck and thought of I-Chaya.

He was put to bed early that night, and he did not dispute the action. He was tired, and confused. The _kahs-wan_ had been unsuccessful, and Father would not look at him. He had done it for Father, to show that he was not weak. That he was not a failure.

He thought of Soral.

---

Amanda would not turn to him, would not accept his hands, his conciliating gestures. He supposed she was justified in her actions. He stopped trying to reach her.

"He did it for you." Her voice was between fury and despair.

"Of course he did. As I did it for my father and he for my grandfather."

"He almost died."

"He learned something of himself." As Sarek had.

"If this happens again, I will leave you." She said it straight, and he felt it through the bond. She left him in the dark and went to their bedroom.

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Reviews make me happy~ :D


	8. Spock and T'Pring

Arrg. I've been busy with _Heatsink_; forgive me. XD Oh. I know so far I've been doing one chapter per year of Spock's life (did you guys pick up on that? o_o), but since this particular episode would also have happened when he was seven, I'm making an exception. Because I really wanted to write this one!

Disclaimer: I do not own Star Trek!

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He was looking forward to the meeting, though he knew he should not be. That implied that he was emotionally invested in the outcome. But still, he sat forward in his seat in the flyer and tried to keep his heart rate down.

He was meeting his intended. She was from a well-off family, in the same social class as his own. These things did not concern him. He wondered if she was pretty, and held onto his mother's sleeve.

What would she say? How would she act?

What was she _like? _

Did she perform as well as he did in school? Did she derive the same satisfaction from completing puzzles and writing reports? From observing? Translating?

Did she like music?

Did she like art?

…_Would she like him?_

Romantic love was not a concept that belonged anywhere in his state of being. He was too Vulcan, too young, to be concerned with a _feeling_ he didn't understand. He was concerned about compatibility.

(And maybe the existence of cooties.)

The flyer landed outside the compound of her family, and he got out hurriedly to stand by the gate. He was nervous and he didn't want his parents to see. He was nervous, and he wanted to hide behind Mother.

They were greeted by a contingent of very proper Vulcans who, to their credit, managed not to sneer at the human Amanda. This escort led them through the halls into the courtyard of the great house where his betrothed awaited. She was dressed in white, a prim little figure with large dark eyes. Her name was T'Pring.

He looked at her, observed her, drew conclusions about her as the venerable T'Pau, the elder at the ceremony, spoke with his father. T'Pring regarded him stonily in return. Her lips were faintly colored, as were her cheeks, and her eyes had a kind of gleam to them. She was a pragmatic individual.

She was utterly cold.

T'Pau placed her hands on their foreheads and, like that, the ceremony began. He felt the bond form between him and T'Pring like warm rain running down his face. Suddenly there was a connection, a _togetherness_. It was to be incomplete, as Father had said it would be, until his time of mating. He did not know how to react to that.

T'Pau removed her hands, her fingers grazing his ear as she pulled away. He gazed at his betrothed and tried to access the new thread between them, but she did not meet his touch. She was looking at the flowers in the garden boxes, plucking the petals off one by one in her mind's eye.

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Yep. I'm not really a fan of T'Pring, but I don't dislike her. I prefer K/S when romance is concerned, anyway. :D Reviews make me happy!


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